


All your wishes

by utzzer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fairy Keith, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Idk what I'm doing just roll with it, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 12:44:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10991193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/utzzer/pseuds/utzzer
Summary: “Lance was in trouble because of him. Granted, no one forced Lance to free Keith, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty about the situation the boy found himself in. Lance didn’t seem too happy about it. And even if it was just his own magic betraying him by making him think like that, Keith felt like Lance didn’t deserve to be shouted at. Besides, he seemed nice enough.Maybe Lance deserved to be granted a wish.”In which Keith is a fairy who has to grant Lance a wish after he saves him from being trapped in a cage





	All your wishes

**Author's Note:**

> What to expect from this:  
> -My mediocre writing  
> -super sporadic updates (it took me like 3 months to finish this first chapter soooooo….)  
> -A constantly changing writing style, depending on what stuff I was reading while writing this  
> -Me changing my mind about what is going to happen next at the speed of light  
> -Lance and Keith being cute (what you’re probably here for)

In hindsight, a small bird wasn’t the smartest choice of animal to turn into. But then again, Keith never expected to be captured and stuffed into a cage. A very sturdy cage, that he had been trying to break out of for a while now. But no matter how hard he threw himself against the door, it would not budge. There was also no way he could pick the lock in his current form, and since the cage was made from metal, his magic wouldn’t work on it, either.

This was just great. Keith plopped down to the bottom of the small space and stretched out his wings. When he got out of here and back home, he would probably have to sit through a lecture from Shiro, about how he always told him to stay away from humans and to think about his actions for more than two seconds. But nothing bad ever happened to Keith before. He figured humans were too dumb to recognize a fairy in disguise when they saw one and if they did, they surely would be too slow to catch one. Yet here he was, after being a little too careless when he saw an abandoned can of sweetened milk laying around, a delicious snack he didn’t come by very often. Just as he sat down to indulge in this treat, a net came swinging down, and Keith came face to face with a hunter, a disgusting man with narrow eyes and smelly breath, who laughed at him and called him a silly little bird.

When Keith would escape, he would definitely play the nastiest pranks he knew on that guy. But before he could even do that, he had to get out. Despite his exhaustion, he began to flutter around the small cage once more. Maybe he could make it fall from the box it had been placed on and the impact would cause the door to open. This time, he actually managed to move the cage a tiny bit. Encouraged by the small success, he repeatedly threw himself against the bars of the cage. He almost didn’t notice the tarp that was covering the back of the cart he was in being pushed aside. All the ruckus he was causing, caught the attention of the human now peering inside.

The first thing Keith noticed about this one, were his piercing blue eyes. These eyes adorned a narrow face, with delicate cheekbones and a pointed chin, and were framed by two perfectly arched eyebrows. His pointed nose sat over his thin lips, which rested in a tiny smirk. All this was completed with perfect bronze skin and short brown hair. He was younger that the man who captured Keith, and looked less like he belonged with a party of hunters, and more like he jumped straight out of a painting. The boy let his eyes rest on the cage for a moment, then he bent down, setting aside some dead rabbits, then he reached for a box, searching for something. Not letting himself get distracted from his goal to get out of the cage, Keith threw himself against the bars again.

Finally grabbing a small knife from the box he was rummaging through, the hunter observed Keith, eyebrows raised. When Keith fell to the bottom for the fifth time, the knife was set aside with an amused chuckle.

“You won’t give up, will you?” the hunter said, and sat down on the edge of the cart, his face now closer and on eye level with the cage.

Keith settled on the bottom of the cage and ruffled his feathers in annoyance. It was bad enough that he got captured, he didn’t need this guy observing him struggle for amusement. Humans were the worst.

The boy lifted his hand, tapping the bars of the cage with his slender fingers.

“Why would someone even catch you?” His smirk dropped, lips now pursed and eyes narrowed. “I mean, we probably won’t eat you. And no offence, you’re a pretty bird but not that pretty. I wouldn’t keep you as a pet.”

Okay, first he got captured, then laughed at, and now this human was insulting him? And wow, he really didn’t recognize a fairy when it was staring him right in the face. Keith would definitely try to teach all these hunters not to mess with him if he ever got the chance.

“Trapping you in a cage is just mean.”

Suddenly, the young hunter picked up the cage, making Keith flutter around the small space. The boy turned the cage carefully, until he found the lock. Wait, what was he doing? Was he really about to set Keith free? Maybe this human wasn’t as bad as the others.

He stood up and took the cage out of the cart, then he looked around, checking if someone was watching him. He fiddled with the cage door, hesitating before opening it. Keith hopped around the cage impatiently, waiting to finally get out. Could this guy make up his mind already?

He looked at the boy’s face again, to be met with a serious gaze in return. Finally, the corners of his moth quirked up into a sincere smile when he opened the cage.

Immediately, Keith flew out, his body aching from his fruitless attempts at breaking free and being unable to properly stretch his limbs in an enclosed space. He heard the boy laugh happily, but didn’t look back. Flying towards his home, he decided that he would stay away from humans for while time after this.

* * *

It took him a while to get back. He hadn’t realized how far he had strayed from home when he set out for his little adventure that morning. It was well into the early morning of the next day when he finally made it home, making a clumsy landing in front of their door, legs giving out under him. He shed the bird disguise a while ago and was now on his knees, head leaning against the front door of the entrance of the hollow tree that he and his brother lived in. He almost fell asleep like this, if it weren’t for Shiro opening the door, making Keith fall face forward into their home.

Thankfully, his brother caught him before he hit the floor, and then gently picked him up. Keith struggled to look up at him, fatigue making his eyelids drop shut. What he did see though, was Shiro looking at him with furrowed brows, eyes wandering and checking for any injuries Keith might have. He wanted to tell his brother that he was fine and that he just needed to rest, but his mind was already drifting off to sleep. The last thing he noticed was being set down on his bed. After that, it was blackness and dreams of cornflower blue eyes.

* * *

 

Keith slowly blinked awake, noticing that the sun was already past it’s zenith. He tried to turn around, to shield his face from the light, but let out a pained groan, noticing that his body was still hurting all over. After failing to go back to sleep, he finally sat up. He lifted his shirt, so he could inspect the source of his pain. Big, dark bruises in the form of the cage bars were covering his torso. They were painful, but he assumed they would fade in a few days. It could be worse, he thought. At least he was not bleeding.

His throat was dry and scratchy, and he craved something to drink. Yet, he hesitated to get some water. Because that would mean coming out of his room, and then he would most definitely run into Shiro. Keith could still remember the concerned look on his brother’s face, even though he was hardly awake at the time. He felt a pang in his chest, guilt from making his brother so worried about him. His brother, who again and again told him to be careful around humans, who would lecture him not to get caught, who told him not to get reckless. His brother, who got caught before and was lucky he escaped, even though he lost his wings in the process.

Maybe he could make up a different story about how he got all those bruises and why he was home so late and exhausted. But Shiro could almost always tell right away when Keith was lying, and then he would be disappointed in him too, on top of being worried.

Sighing, Keith shoved of the blanket that was wrapped around him. There was no point in delaying it, he had to tell Shiro sooner or later. Better to get it over with now, and then they both could forget this ever happened.

He finally got up from his bed, stretching his aching limbs before silently opening the door to their living space. Sure enough, Shiro was sitting at the table, eyes fixed on an empty cup. His head immediately snapped up at the soft steps of Keith’s feet when he entered the room.

“Keith! You’re finally awake!” his brother sprang up and made his way around the table, pulling out the chair closest to Keith, who only returned a raised eyebrow.

“Calm down Shiro. I’m fine.” He answered while sitting down. Shiro still eyed him as if he was about to collapse any second. When he was sure that Keith wouldn’t keel over, he went and got Keith a cup of tea, which he gladly accepted. While Keith sipped on the tea, Shiro took this opportunity to interrogate him further.

“First of all, I know you’re not fine. Don’t even try to deny it, I saw the bruises!” He gave Keith another concerned look. “What happened?”

Keith took his time taking another sip of his tea, thinking about how he was going to tell his brother what happened. Eventually he decided to go with the whole truth. He got home safe, right? Considering this, Shiro’s reaction couldn’t be that bad.

“I kind of got captured by humans.”

“You what?!”

Shiro was now leaning forward, eyes widened in shock. Keith could swear that he was about to jump up to check Keith for any injuries again, if it weren’t for the annoyed glare Keith shot him.

“How did you get out?”

“Uh… someone kind of… set me free?”

“A human?”

Keith nodded.

His brother leaned back, hands trailing through his short hair and sighed.

“You know what that means right? You owe them.”

“Yeah about that. I’m not sure it counts?”

“What do you mean you’re not sure it counts?”

Keith prepped up his head on his hand, now looking at his brother sideways.

“Well, I’m pretty sure the guy who freed me was with the guy who caught me. They were like a party of hunters or something. So, all he really did was fixing what his… companion did wrong. Their actions might just… cancel each other out?”

Judging from the look he was receiving right now, Shiro wasn’t really convinced. Well, Keith wasn’t convinced either, but there was no way in hell that he would ever want to pay a debt to a human. A human was responsible for putting him in that cage in the first place! And if there was one thing that stuck with him from all his school lessons, it was that owing a debt to a human was pretty much the worst thing that could happen to a fairy.

 “Keith. You owe him.” Shiro finally said after they sat for a while in silence.

“Yeah no, I don’t think so.” Keith snorted in return.

* * *

 

Magic, with all the rules and restrictions that came with it, was a bitch, Keith decided. Yes, it was great that he could disguise himself in any shape he desired or that he could teleport to any point he wanted at will, but the rules he had to abide to for keeping those magical abilities sucked.

It had been a week since he was captured and released. A week of Shiro constantly fussing over him and not so subtly leaving books on fairies’ owing to humans for Keith to find. A week of Shiro asking him if he felt any different to the way he usually did any chance he got, and Keith always answering that he was fine.

The problem was, Keith wasn’t sure if he was fine. Even though his bruises were finally fading, his memories of the event played over and over in his head. Every night he dreamt of those cornflower blue eyes. Every time he found himself unoccupied, his mind drifted to the boy that freed him from that cage. What was the boy doing right now? Was he happy? Keith even felt a physical pull toward the human town where he assumed the boy might live. That wasn’t normal, right?

And then there was his magic just being weird. No matter what he was doing, it just felt _wrong_ , like he should be doing something else, but he didn’t know what. It also meant that he couldn’t control it with the relative ease he knew he had from years of training. Simple transformations took far more concentrating than he was used to. What was that all about?

Which is why he finally caved in, his nose now buried in one of the books Shiro left lying around. There he had it, black on white. It was his own magic doing this to him, betraying him, all because he owed a debt to the human. The only way he could stop the pull he felt towards the boy and to regain full control of his magic abilities, was to grant him a wish. A sincere wish spoken out loud, that would make the boy so happy, he would forget all his worries, giving him a moment of pure bliss.

Now how would Keith do that?

Frustrated, he threw the book aside and smushed his head into a pillow, muffling a groan. The information he could take from the books wasn’t helping him. All he got from it, was how you came to owe a debt (get saved from a potentially life threatening situation), what a magic debt felt like (a pull toward your saviour and the desire to see them happy), what the consequences of not paying it would be (gradual loss of control over your magic, something Keith really didn’t want to think about), how to pay it and that _under no circumstances, a fairy should come into the situation to owe a human._ And since the authors of the books just assumed that their numerous warnings should be enough to keep a smart fairy out of this situation, there were no hints on how to fulfil such a wish, or what a wish like that would even be.

The one thing Keith was certain about, was that he would have to go back. There was no way he would know what the boy could possibly even wish for if he stayed at home. He had to somehow observe the boy… learn about him and find out what kind of wish would make him happy. Then he could finally think about something different than that boy and continue his life like normal.

He got up and went looking for Shiro. It was probably a good idea to tell him where he was going, considering he didn’t exactly know how long this would take, even if that meant admitting that his brother was right. He found Shiro outside in their garden.

“Hey.” He said, and sat down on a rock. His brother looked at him, immediately frowning when he met his eyes.

“Keith, what’s wrong?”

“I uh…” now how was he going to tell his worried brother that he was going to go back to the humans who almost captured him once, in a way that would concern him very little?

“I’m gonna leave for a while. Maybe a bit longer than a while? I’m not sure how long this will take exactly so… just don’t worry about me, please. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you going to the human town?” his brother asked, frown deepening. So much for not worrying Shiro.

“…Yeah.”

His brother nodded in understanding. “So you finally read the books?”

“…Yeah.”

“So do you already know what kind of whish you’re gonna grant that boy or…?”

“No.” Keith crossed his arms in annoyance. “But I’m gonna find out. Can’t be that hard, right? I’m gonna find out really fast and then come back as soon as I can. I promise.”

Those last words seemed to convince Shiro that Keith would come back as fast as possible. He stood up and pulled Keith into a tight hug.

“Just be careful, okay?”

* * *

 

The human town was loud, crowded and confusing. It seemed that nothing was left the way it was intended by nature, once you were past the wall surrounding it. One moment it was endless fields, flowing into the forest with a few lonely houses scattered across the landscape, the next it was nothing but brick buildings, bunched together to create dark, suffocating alleys. Tall chimneys reached up into the sky, as if they were aspiring to tower above it all, like the castle that was overlooking the whole town from the hill.

Keith chose the highest chimney to land on. He was disguised as a bird again, thinking it would be the easiest way to get around and far less draining than staying invisible the whole time. From his vantage point, he could see the market. It was bustling with life, humans of all shapes and sizes checking out the various market stands and bargaining for the best deals with one another. There were so many of them! How was Keith supposed to find the boy who saved him? Earlier, he felt the pull towards the town, but the more people were there, the less he could pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. It only got him to the market before Keith was thoroughly lost and confused.

He assumed that the boy was somewhere here. There certainly was no point in searching the market with all the people running around, so Keith decided to wait until the boy left and to follow him then. He had to leave at some point, right? Or maybe he lived in the town, and Keith would have to stay here to spy on him. Just the thought of spending more time than he absolutely had to in this suffocating place made him anxious. There was a reason he usually stayed away from towns this big.

Keith stayed at the market for what must have been an hour, occasionally fluttering from one rooftop to another, trying to get a glimpse of that mop of brown hair he remembered so clearly. He had just settled next to a weather vane resembling a lion, when he felt pulled to another direction. It seemed the boy was heading out of the town. Keith followed the direction of the pull, trying to find the boy in the narrow alleys, but was unsuccessful. Then, when he was nearing the city wall, he finally spotted him, steering a waggon pulled by a white horse out of the city.

He didn’t smirk like he did the first time they met, instead the corners of his mouth were turned down and his eyebrows were drawn together. Keith couldn’t help but think that the frown didn’t suit him. But, he thought, if he was worried about something, there surely would be a wish he could grant him that would make the boy smile again, like the time when he released Keith from the cage. Perhaps this would be easier than he thought.

The boy steered the waggon down the road heading towards the forest. Keith had a bit of a hard time keeping up, but decided against hitching a ride on the waggon itself in fear of being discovered and caught again. They made their way through a part of the forest where the trees where only sparsely dotted around, light enough that the sun was still visible through the leaves. After quite the long way, they finally made it to a big house at the edge of the forest, surrounded by a huge wall. The boy jumped down the waggon to open the gate, while Keith landed on the wall and observed the situation. Was the boy living here? Was it his house?

Still scowling, the boy steered the waggon through the gate. He made his way to the stables, where he was greeted by someone short with red hair and glasses. Keith couldn’t make out what they were talking about, so he flew closer and landed on the top of the stable roof to listen to their conversation.

“When will you stop moping?” the short one asked, while untying the horse from the waggon.

“Pidge, this is so unfair! No more hunting, for me, the sharpshooter? Only stupid, boring supply runs and chores no one wants to do, all because I made one small mistake?” the boy retorted while dramatically flinging his arms around.

The short one – Pidge – snorted in return. “I’m sure you’ll survive. We all know Sendak is a huge dick. But – and I hate to admit this – you’re on of the best hunters he has. So, by next week he’ll see that the others can’t carry your usual workload and you will be back to hunting. Just don’t piss him off. Also, I don’t see what’s so bad about going to the market in town? I’m stuck here all damn day, and I would give an arm and a leg just to get out of here to get some stuff I really need!”

“Oh about that…” the boy who saved Keith said, disappearing into the waggon for a bit and then emerging with something rolled up in a piece of cloth.

“I got that crystal you ranted about the other day. At least I think it’s the right one? I’m not entirely sure if – hey!”

Pidge’s eyes widened, before they snatched the package out of his hands at lighting speed, interrupting him. They carefully unwrapped it, exposing a small ice blue crystal. A smile spread on Pidges face, before they leaped into the boy’s arms and hugged him enthusiastically.

“Oh thank you Lance!” they exclaimed. “You are actually not that bad.”

Lance chuckled, hugging Pidge back and eventually setting them down on the ground again. “So it is the right one?”

Pidge turned the crystal in their hands for a bit, holding it against the light for examination. “Actually… I think it’s a little small…”

“Oh if that’s the case, I can get another – “

“It’ll do fine Lance.” Pidge interrupted him and playfully punched Lance in the arm. “I was just kidding. Really, thank you.”

“Well, anything for my best buds.” Lance said with a warm smile. “Speaking of best buds, I also got something for Hunk. I was gonna give it to him right now – are you good here or do you need some help?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I’ll just ask someone else to help me unload the waggon. Go give Hunk whatever you got him, and then come back and tell me what’s for dinner.”

“Sure thing. Thanks Pidge!” Lance climbed back into the waggon and emerged with a crate in his arms. Then he dashed across the yard, straight to the back entry of the huge mansion.

Keith followed him, worried that he might lose sight of Lance once he was inside the house. Thankfully, he heard his voice through an open window on the ground floor, so he settled in a rosebush right in front of it.

Inside, Lance set down the crate on top of a kitchen counter, then he was peeking into what Keith assumed was the storage room, as if he was searching for someone. Probably this Hunk guy, whoever that was.

“Hunk? My man? Where are you, I have a surprise for you…” Lance singsonged, while strolling around the kitchen, inspecting the various pots that were standing around. When he opened one of them, he was greeted by a waft of steam and a delicious smell filled the air. Lance dashed across the kitchen and grabbed a spoon, but just as he was about to get a taste of whatever was in the pot, a large guy came through the kitchen door, gasping as he saw Lance.

“Put down that spoon Lance. That soup isn’t anywhere close to being finished.” He took the spoon from Lance’s hand and covered the pot with its lid again. What he got in return was a disappointed look from Lance.

“Come on, it already smells amazing!” he objected, jumping to sit on the kitchen counter. “I know your cooking, even if it’s only half finished, it’s  probably delicious anyway!”

“As much as I appreciate the compliment, I don’t like you messing around in my kitchen. Now what was that surprise you were yelling about?”

“Over there.” Lance perked up and pointed at the crate he put on the counter earlier. “I got some of those weird carrots you like so much on the market for you. That one guy was practically giving them away for free.”

Hunk made his way to the crate, opening it and checking its contents. His face lit up and he turned back to Lance.

“Okay first of all, thank you! And second, they’re not weird carrots, they’re called parsnip. But I’m going to ignore your complete disregard for proper naming of vegetables right now and give you a hug!”

Lance gladly let himself be wrapped up in Hunk’s arms, hugging him back enthusiastically. Keith could tell that this was a regular occurrence between these to, in the way they both looked comfortable.

“I heard Sendak made you go to the market today?” Hunk asked, after the two boys stopped hugging and he started adding thins to whatever was cooking in the pot Lance examined earlier.

“Mhhh… I tried to make the best of it.” Lance shrunk down again, the smile wiped from his face and his arms crossed. “I got you those things and Pidge that crystal they wanted. But running errands for Sendak wasn’t fun. At all.”

“That bad?”

“You just mention his name and the people look at you all scared. I mean, they know I work for him, they just don’t expect me to be his errand boy. I had to bargain with quite a lot of people today. Paid far more money than Sendak said I could. I even spend some of my own money…”

“You did what? Lance, you don’t have to do that!”

“I know! But I’m not like Haxus and just start threatening people when they don’t give me the price I want. Even if I was, I don’t think people would be afraid of me, I’m far too charming for that.” Lance shot Hunk a weak grin. “Also, I don’t like paying them less than what their merchandise is worth.”

His friend looked right back at him, brows furrowed. “But still, you shouldn’t have to spend your money on Sendak’s stuff.”

“I know.” Lance sighed. “I just didn’t want to make him angrier at me than he already is by overspending.”

“What exactly did you do to make him that angry again?”

“I don’t know!” Lance threw his hands up in exasperation. “He was just shouting and I didn’t really want to listen, and also it didn’t make any sense. Something about me releasing his valuable catches – I mean he doesn’t even hunt with us! I bet it was because I released that random bird Haxus had in a cage for some reason and he ratted me out to Sendak because he was pissed. I don’t even get what he wanted with it – it was just an ordinary bird!”

Oh no. Lance was in trouble because of _him_. Granted, no one forced Lance to free him from the cage, but still, Keith couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about the situation the human boy found himself in. Whatever it was, Lance didn’t seem too happy about it. And even if it was just his own magic betraying him and making him think that all he wanted to do was to see Lance happy, Keith felt like Lance didn’t deserve to be shouted at by whoever Sendak was. Besides, Lance seemed like a nice guy. He got his friend presents from the market, even though he didn’t want to go there. And his friends seemed like decent people, they probably wouldn’t be friends with Lance if he was an asshole.

Maybe Lance deserved to be granted a wish.

* * *

 

As the day carried on, all Keith could do was wait and try to come up with a plan. Lance and Hunk closed the window after a while and disappeared into other parts of the house, making it impossible for Keith to spy on them. Well, maybe not impossible, but he didn’t want to turn into a mouse, especially since he already had trouble staying a bird, a form he spend a lot of time in. So instead he spent his day fluttering around the estate, listening to various conversations in hope of finding out more about Lance. He didn’t learn that much, only that he apparently flirted with all the maids, he was hanging out with Pidge and Hunk most of the time and he was a hunter.

That didn’t help him on his task to grant the boy a wish. He figured that to find out something that Lance wished for, he would have to follow him around like a shadow. And then he would have to conveniently catch him at the exact moment he would mention such a wish. The longer Keith thought about it, the more impossible this task seemed to become.

The sun was setting, and Keith was perched on the gate that was the only way into the estate. He tried to think of a plan for the last hour, but failed miserably. It seemed likely that he would have to spend the next few days here, trying to follow Lance and taking every hint he could get about what Lance could wish for. So much for this being a thing he could finish really quickly.

But then he saw Lance. He was exiting the house and heading towards the gate, carrying a bow and arrows. He wore a deep frown, eyebrows tightly knit together. As he headed out into the forest, Keith followed him, wondering what had happened to make him so mad. Lance continued to dash through the forest, eventually making it to an old oak tree that had a target sloppily painted on it.

He took out an arrow and readied his bow, aiming at the target, but he missed the tree by a long shot. With an annoyed huff, he grabbed another arrow. And another one. And another one. None of them hit the target. Letting out a frustrated shout, he threw his bow aside and headed to the tree to retrieve his arrows.

That’s when Keith got probably the worst idea he ever had. Lance clearly was frustrated, so if he could just go and ask what was wrong, he surely would find a wish he could grant him to make him happy. So, he would do just that. Talk to Lance. As a human.

It sure as hell wasn’t the safest way to fulfil this task, but it would be much easier than following Lance around, hoping he would just randomly mention a wish. Keith flew quite far away from Lance, who was still trying to hit the target. When he couldn’t see or hear him anymore, he landed on the ground, turning into a human in the process. He tried to get a look at himself, as well as that was possible without a mirror. He basically still looked like himself, minus the wings and human sized. There wasn’t much else that he could do to disguise himself, and this form would be pretty easy to maintain, so he decided to head back and talk to Lance.

When he could already see Lance, who was still firing arrows at the target, he stayed hidden behind a tree for a while. This would be easy. He could do this, he could talk to Lance. They would just chat for a bit, Keith would find out whatever Lance wished for and then they’d part ways. Keith would disguise himself again and then grant that wish. He could return home, without Lance even knowing who he was and what he did. He didn’t recognize him as a fairy the first time they met, so why would he now?

It was now or never, so Keith stepped out from behind the tree.

“Hey.” He said, startling Lance, who whipped around with a high pitched scream and fired an arrow straight at Keith’s head. If it wasn’t for Keith’s quick reflexes, this would definitely have been a hit.

“Oh geez!” Lance exclaimed, dropping his bow to run toward Keith and grabbed him by his shoulders. He turned him around, searching for any harm he could have done. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to scare a guy firing arrows?”

Content after finding no injuries, he let go of Keith and took a step back. Then he was looking right at him, with those blue eyes he couldn’t forget. They shared a few seconds of awkward silence, before Keith managed to stammer out a response.

“I was just… uh… I saw you firing at that target. And you looked so… uh, I don’t know, mad? And you were shouting… so I thought I’d come over and ask you what’s wrong?”

“Wait, were you spying on me?”

“No! That’s not… I didn’t – I was just passing through when I heard you!”

“Hm hm…” Lance crossed his arms and looked over Keith critically. “And you were doing what exactly deep in the forest?”

“Taking a walk?” Keith said. Lance quirked up one eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

“To clear my head.” Keith added, sounding much more assuring than he should have.

He could clearly see the process of Lance’s thoughts flicker over his face. After another beat of silence passed between them, the human boy finally sighed and relaxed, seemingly content with Keith’s explanation.

“Well, who am I to judge?” He said, picking up his bow, before he trailed back towards the tree with the target. “Since I’m the one who walked into the forest to shoot arrows at a tree like a madman.”

“And you didn’t even hit the target.” Keith remarked. Lance’s expression turned sour at that comment and he walked over to Keith again, poking him in the chest with his index finger.

“I’ll have you know that I am an excellent shot!”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“I’m just feeling really out of it today. I always come here and do some target practice when that happens, and it helps but… I’ve just had a really shitty week.” He let his shoulders slump as he spoke, his body language going from confident to sad in mere seconds.

“You wanna talk about it?” Keith offered.

“Yeah right, like I’m going to annoy a complete stranger by whining about all of my problems. I’m not _that_ pathetic.” He gathered all his things and it looked like he was preparing to leave. Keith had to stop him, he didn’t expose himself just to have an unpleasant conversation with Lance without getting any new information.

So, he stepped into Lance’s way and stretched out his hand. “I’m Keith.”

“Lance.” The other replied, sceptically shaking the hand offered to him.

Keith couldn’t help but let triumphant smirk pass over his face.

“See, now we’re not complete strangers anymore. Let’s sit down and you can tell me all about your shitty week.”

Lance’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, before he relaxed and chuckled. Keith liked this version of him much better.

“Okay Keith.”

They made their way over to a fallen tree, sitting on the ground and leaning their backs against it. Lance put down his bow, quiver and bag beside him, but continued fiddling with his bag strap. Finally, he sighed and let his head drop back and rest on the tree trunk.

“It’s just that… my boss is the world’s biggest asshole. See, I work for Sendak…” Lance turned to look at Keith, interested to see his reaction. He had no idea what kind of reaction Lance was expecting, so he just shrugged.

“You know, Sendak? Rich asshole, owns an estate and a shit ton of land?”

Keith shrugged again. “I’m not from around here.”

“Oh, okay. Me neither, that’s why I started working for Sendak in the first place. Didn’t know what I was getting myself into.” He sighed.

“He hired me as a hunter when he was passing through my town. Actually, I begged him to hire me, because I heard he pays very well. Which is true by the way, he pays us well, but I guess he sees that as a justification to treat us like garbage... The other day we came back from a hunting trip, and Sendak just singled me out and shouted some stuff about me releasing his precious catches or whatever. But I didn’t do anything?! And then he threatened to fire me, but I really, _really_ need the money, so I begged him not to, and now he makes me do chores and errands and he cut my pay.” Keith hummed in acknowledgement, and Lance sighed again.

“Now I’m just running around, getting things for Sendak that I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even need. And he gives me so little money for that, so I have to bargain every time I want to buy anything. Or he makes me do totally unnecessary chores, like cleaning up stuff I swear he spills on purpose when I’m around. And every time there is something unpleasant to do, he makes me do it. He wants me to be there at his every beck and call. There’s _always_ something I have to do. I bet if he knew I was here right now, he would be furious. Good thing Pidge and Hunk cover for me.”

“Why don’t you search for another job?” Keith asked. That was something he could probably manage to do, if Lance wished for it. Find him another job that paid well, and get Lance hired. Maybe his euphoria about the new job would be enough to break their weird bond.

“I can’t. It’s – it wouldn’t – my employment to Sendak is a pretty complicated story.” Lance grimaced. “Believe me, I would quit in the blink of an eye if I could. But also, Sendak is pretty much the only on hiring around here.”

“Then why don’t you go home?”

“I can’t.” He said it with such a bitter tone, that Keith knew better than to continue with that topic.

There had to be _something_ he could do for Lance. He seemed exhausted, and he did just walk into the forest to do something just by himself. So maybe that was what he needed right now, time to do something he enjoyed.

“You should try to get a day off.” Keith suggested.

Lance snorted. “Oh yeah. I’ll just walk right up to Sendak and ask very nicely if I can just have a day off, and he’ll agree. Man, I wish that would happen!”

There it was. A wish. A simple wish, that Keith was pretty sure he could grant. He would have to come up with a plan on how to convince Sendak, maybe he could try to influence him in some way. Lance would get his day off and to do something that would make him feel better, and Keith would be free of all his obligations and would get full control over his magic back. It was perfect.

“Uh buddy, why are you staring at me all wide eyed and not saying anything?”

Oh, right. Lance was still there and Keith was kind of staring at him. He had to convince him to just ask Sendak for a day off.

“You should do just that!” Keith exclaimed and grabbed Lance’s hands. “You should go and ask for a day off!” He elaborated when he only got a confused look in return.

“There’s no way he will let me do that!”

“Trust me! Just do it!” Keith tried to give him an encouraging smile. “I have a feeling that tomorrow might just be your lucky day.”

“Uhhhh…” Lance looked unsure, so Keith locked eyes with him and tried to somehow mentally assure Lance that it would work. They didn’t break eye contact for a few long seconds, before Lance finally said something.

“Okay, you seem completely convinced this will work for some reason. And you’re kind of freaking me out with the staring. If I promise to _maybe_ try it, will you let go of my hands and let me go home?”

Keith immediately dropped Lance’s hands and tried his best to hide the blush that was creeping up his cheeks. God, he had just grabbed Lance’s hands and held them for an awkwardly long time, hadn’t he? What was wrong with him?

“Yeah. I – I’m glad you’ll try it. It’ll go great, I’m sure!”

“Okay weirdo.” Lance gathered up his things and stood up. He offered his hand to Keith and helped pull him up when he took it. “Maybe I’ll meet you again tomorrow and I’ll tell you if it worked?”

“Yeah.” Was the only answer Keith could think of right now. He didn’t plan to meet Lance like this again, but saying that they wouldn’t meet again felt wrong. Keith would be seeing Lance, Lance just wouldn’t be seeing Keith.

“Okay. Bye then. Have fun in the forest I guess? And thank you for listening.“ Lance said with a smile and waved at Keith.

Keith awkwardly waved back. “Bye.”

He watched Lance turn around and disappear between the trees.

So, this was his first conversation with a human. Could have been worse. He got a wish to grant from it and a general idea how to do that. Now all that he would have to do was to come up with a plan.


End file.
